Bootes (Constellation)

Boötes /boʊˈoʊtiːz/ is a constellation in the northern sky. The name comes from the Greek Βοώτης, Boōtēs, meaning herdsman or plowman (literally, ox-driver; from boos, related to the Latin bovis, “cow”).

It contains the fourth brightest star in the night sky, Arcturus. Boötes is home to many other bright stars, including eight above the fourth magnitude and an additional 21 above the fifth magnitude, making a total of 29 stars easily visible to the naked eye.

Boötes is a constellation bordered by Virgo to the south, Coma Berenices and Canes Venatici to the west, Ursa Major to the northwest, Draco to the northeast, and Hercules, Corona Borealis and Serpens Caput to the east.

Arcturus, or Alpha Boötis, is the brightest star in Boötes and the fourth brightest star in the sky. It is also the brightest star north of the celestial equator, barely brighter than Vega and Capella.

Its name comes from the Greek for “bear-keeper”. An orange giant with color visible from Earth at a distance of 37 light-years, its diameter is 27 solar diameters, equivalent to approximately 32 million kilometers, though its mass is approximately one solar mass.

Marking the herdsman’s left ear is Beta Boötis, or Nekkar, a yellow giant of magnitude 3.5. Its common name comes from the Arabic phrase for “ox-driver”. It is 219 light-years away.

Eta Boötis or Muphrid is a 2.68 magnitude star that is 37 light-years away. It is the uppermost star denoting the herdsman’s left leg.

Muphrid and Arcturus lie only 3.3 light years away from each other.

Gamma Boötis, or Seginus, is a white star of magnitude 3.03. It is 85 light-years away.

Rho and Sigma Boötis denote the herdsman’s waist. With a visual magnitude of 3.58, is 183 light-years from Earth.

Bootes
Bootes Tagged
Bootes Location
Bootes Location

Image Details
1 image 4s 800iso f2 (requires more stacked frames)
Description from Wikipedia

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